CLINICAL AND THERAPEUTICAL ASPECTS OF LABIO-MAXILLO-PALATINE CLEFT: DATA FROM LITERATURE

The current literature shows that the cleft lip and/or palate are the most frequent congenital anomalies of all the congenital face anomalies. They can occur as part of a syndrome or they can be nonsyndromic. In the present study we compared particular growth aspects in children with cleft lip and/or palate, pathogenesis, dental anomalies accompanying various clinical forms, protocols and treatments that are most frequently used. Many patients with operated cleft lip/palate have a limited maxillary growth whereas the patients with operated cleft lip/palate have nearly normal facial growth. Most researchers believe that maxillary retrusion is secondary to the labial and/or palatal repair. As reported in other studies children with unoperated palate clefts present a small size of the anterior-posterior maxilla as well as retrusive maxilla. This type of congenital malformation is a special situation because of the treatment it requires which is an interdisciplinary approach that includes:maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, orthodontic treatment, ENT’s, speech therapy and paediatrics. There isn’t currently a fixed treatment scheme, schools like the German or American one use different therapeutic protocols. Also, specialized centers for treating lip and palate clefts have been established in other countries, thereby ensuring from the very beginning an adequate control and supervision of treatment that will continue all along